


Must Love Dogs

by Butterfly



Series: Scenes from a Resurrection Story [16]
Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-29 03:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18770653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butterfly/pseuds/Butterfly
Summary: Penny tries to teach an old dog a new trick.





	Must Love Dogs

“-which is why I don't trust soft-spoken men.” Penny tossed the vine-covered branch deeper into the trees. Ol' Scratch whined, went up, sniffed it... then left it there and came back to Penny. With a resigned sigh, Penny reached up to pet the middle of the three heads, while the outer ones messily licked at his face and shoulders. “You know, at least Coldwater held up his end of the conversation.”

Ol' Scratch turned his neck and the left head panted down at Penny, one eye bright and alert while the other was milky and scarred. Penny leaned down and picked up another branch and tossed it over past the dog. Ol' Scratch loped onward, again completely failing to pick up the stick and looking very proud of himself for it.

Almost two months since Kady's last call. Penny knew that time moved differently topside, but he was starting to worry. The forest – jungle? – that he'd been wandering through the last few weeks was lush with all sorts of plant life, but no signs of any animal or human souls.

A low growl caught his attention. Ol' Scratch had picked up a scent of some kind – the middle head was pressed to the ground while the other two scanned the area. His tail was low but his haunches were raised. He scratched at the dirt with a restless paw and bounded forward, darting around the trees with a grace that was a little disturbing in a dog the size of a horse.

Penny followed as best he could and, every now and then, Ol' Scratch would pause, body quivering like a nocked arrow, and wait for Penny to catch up.

They found a river, steaming and a deep red that looked way too much like blood to be anything else – and they followed it upstream, because of course they did. Penny wasn't sure if they walked for hours or days. The trees dripped with flowering vines and the gushing river widened and then narrowed again as they walked along its banks.

Finally, they reached what seemed to be Ol' Scratch's destination – there was a cliff and a disgustingly crimson waterfall spattering down. Behind the fall of blood, there was a deep blackness. Ol' Scratch rested his heads on the mossy ground, facing towards the cave entrance, and fell asleep.

“Sure, why the fuck not,” Penny muttered. “Can't get any more dead.”

Still, though, he was as cautious as he could manage, taking off his shoes and socks for a better grip on the rocks and roots as he felt along the wall for safe hand-holds. He slipped behind the waterfall, holding his breath against the iron-tinged taste.

He groped into the cave and sat a spell, letting his eyes adjust.

It wasn't as completely dark as he'd feared – there was a hint of light, deep down inside the tunnel, and where it hit the walls, they looked like crystal, refracting and shimmering.

He followed the lights, down, down, down.

As more of the tunnel was lit up, the colors became... iridescent, almost overwhelming. The scent of blood was long-gone, replaced by... incense? It reminded him of the Psychic House back at Brakebills.

The tunnel became smoother, crystals – no, _gems_ – fitted together and polished until they shone.

Down and down and down.

Finally, he could see the way widening ahead into a room.

And from the room, he heard the sound of a woman softly singing, a gentle alto in a language that he- yeah, he knew that one. Greek. Ancient Greek. She was singing... it sounded like it was about spring.

He went in.

It was... a bower. No other word for it. Exploding with color and flowers and glimmering jewels. There was a golden light in the air that came from a miniature sun hovering near the top of the cave. The walls were lined with tapestries showing- showing scenes from mythology that rang some bells in his head.

And the woman – dark skin, simple white dress, looking at him with a wry smile. “Well, you took the long road here, didn't you? And you caused quite a fuss along the way.”

“You're... you're Persephone, aren't you?” Penny asked, but it wasn't really a question. The truth was there in her eyes. “Our Lady Underground. Julia's book said you died.”

“Damaged, certainly. Dead? Hmm. Takes more than a moment of distraction to kill a goddess of death, my dear.” She gestured for him to sit down on the springy green moss. After a beat, he complied.

“Death?”

Her eyes warmed with amusement. “Any goddess of life is one of death as well. Growth is intrinsically tied to decay. So the corpse becomes flowers, in time. I was not dead, but I needed time to heal.”

“Okay. That's creepy. I'm guessing you had the dog lead me here. Why?”

“Your... hmm. What would you prefer I call her?”

“If it's who I think it is, you can just call her Kady.”

“Your Kady, then. She put in a very well-documented appeal for your release from the contract you signed with the Library. My husband was impressed with her diligence and thoroughness. Unfortunately, he can't approve it.” She kept smiling that serene smile at him.

“Unless,” Penny stated, flatly. “There's an 'unless' at the end of that sentence, isn't there?”

“How do you think your friend was able to claw his way out of his final destination?” She raised an eyebrow. “That is one door that, once closed, is never supposed to re-open. You think one relatively average mortal magician was able to do what no else has ever done in all of eternity?”

“And now you're trying convince me that I owe and your husband for that, too?” Penny leaned back on his hands and stared directly into the miniature sun until his eyes ached. “You want something. Tell me what the fuck it is. Stop playing games.”

“You and your friends have a persistence that my husband and I believe might come in handy,” she said. “So, if you want to go back, we're prepared to offer a bargain.”

“Yeah, one that will without a doubt be weighted heavily in your favor.” Penny shook his head. “Your _husband_ is the person who hid Quentin from his friends so that they would give up on him. Who ordered me to hurry him along to his resting place. You don't get to take credit for helping him out of a place when you're the ones who drove him there.”

“The boy had to die,” Persephone said, with a careless shrug that chilled him to the bone. “He's the one among you who killed a god and drew attention to this universe. A price had to be extracted. It had to be _seen_ to be extracted. Now that the price has been paid, once he passed through that last doorway, my parents turned their eyes away again.”

“Your- you mean, the old gods?” Penny asked, straightening. “This is about them?”

“The nameless ones were... a blunt instrument and I don't regret them being taken off the board, but their ultimate goal was sound,” she said, delicately brushing her hair off her neck. “The old gods are the root cause of the troubles for both your people and mine. Since your little team has already proven itself capable of killing gods, why not... look a step further up?”

“I don't like being fucked with,” Penny stated, as evenly as he could, as he got to his feet. She just stared up at him, unmoved. “I don't like having my freedom held over my head in exchange for a- an impossible fucking task. And, yeah, we've done the impossible before, but we've _died_ doing it.”

“You'll receive guidance. And you may have a demigoddess on your side, which is nothing to sneeze at.” At his surprised look, she added, “Oh, yes. If you go back, you can remind Julia of what I told her once. It is _her_ choice that matters. No one can make it for her. Anyone who told her that they can, deceived her. She simply needs to find her spark again and re-grow it, much like I've been recovering myself here.”

“So, the pasty-white book man lied to her? Yeah, I guess I'm not that surprised.” Penny rubbed at his face with a tired hand. “And if I don't agree... then what?”

She smiled.

It was not a friendly smile.

“What are the exact terms of the deal that's being offered?” Penny asked. Because she was right – she didn't have to tell him a thing. He could imagine the consequences easily enough, for him and his friends.

She pulled a contract out of the air and held it up to him.

He skimmed through it. The approval of Kady's appeal, which included a new body for him. He would also go back with full knowledge of everything he'd learned in the Underworld. In exchange, he owed a favor. “Little vague on your end.”

“A necessity,” Persephone said. “This room is a special place. We can ward this one room against their ears, but once you leave here... you must be extremely careful. They are not looking. They are not listening. But they are... sensitive to certain vibrations.” She held up her hand again and there was a silver ring there with a black stone on the band. “This will warn you, if they should turn their gaze in your direction.”

“How long do we have to do this before you start getting impatient?” He plucked the ring from her hand. It was a perfect fit on his index finger.

“Don't worry, I know this isn't something that can be accomplished in a day,” she said. “You'll have time. Enough time.”

“And the old gods – can they watch dreams, read minds?”

“Clever thought,” she said. “Human minds are... quicksilver. Opaque and a little poisonous. Dreams are a safer place than most, to talk about dangerous things. Even there, I would warn you not to be too loud. It sounds like you've made your choice. Do we have a deal, Penny?”

The worst part was that he didn't have a choice. Not really. Because saying 'no' to them here would never actually end here. “We have a deal,” he said and twitched a little, surprised, as his words turned to golden light and attached themselves to the contact in his handwriting.

“We have a deal,” Persephone echoed, and her words sealed to the scroll as well.

He took a deep, shuddering breath.

And opened his eyes.

He had to shut them again, almost instantly. It was- holy shit, too bright, too much, too _real_. He was lying down, which was good, because standing seemed like it would make him throw up. His- he was actually _really breathing_ and his heart was _beating_ and it was... overwhelming and glorious and... kinda ached, a little.

He heard a little whimper and a wet doggy nose nudged under his hand. He pet it, reflexively. Much smaller than any of Ol' Scratch's heads, but warm and fuzzy. A smallish, furry body tunneled under his arm and he opened his eyes again, cautiously. It was a young dog – not quite a puppy anymore, but still with a lot of puppyish features. Something vaguely familiar about it. He scratched behind the brown fur near the ears and kissed the white streak in the center of its little face. “Hey there. What are you doing here, little one?” He looked around the room. “Huh, guess I should figure out where 'here' is.”

Again, there was a vague, nagging sense of familiarity about the room. He hadn't been here but he'd- he'd read about it. The tall windows, the gray, modern trappings. And- oh.

One of Kady's jackets, draped carelessly over the end of the bed.

And his stupid new heart was beating double-time now.

He looked down at his body and – okay, good, wearing clothes. Not so good, he was wearing the clothes he'd fucking died in, which was not a classy move. He sat up on the bed, giving the dog – and he'd read that Kady had given her a ridiculous name but he couldn't remember what it was exactly – a soft pat on the head, and was rewarded by getting licked all over his hand.

Next he checked his wrists – they looked smooth, so maybe... Quickly, he did a spell – a simple one, just creating a light breeze in the room.

The dog barked as her fur ruffled up in the sudden wind. “Oh, that is- that is very good news,” he told her, stroking her soft ears.

He listened hard, but even with the door opened wide enough for a little furry body to wiggle through, he couldn't hear anyone outside the room. He scooped the dog up in his arms and headed out the door. He'd read about the apartment, but actually being there in person was- was nice. This was where Kady and the others had been living the last few months. Swanky. Expensive. A little cold, but it was already sprouting personal touches here and there.

He put the dog down in the kitchen, near the half-filled water bowl and went prowling around the penthouse. It seemed like it was the middle of the day and the only one here was the dog, who went around with him after lapping at the water for half a minute.

Penny realized, after a while, that he was hungry.

No, _starving_.

He went back to the kitchen and investigated. He set some pans up to heat, grabbed a banana and ate it while he waited, pulled some ingredients out of the fridge and cabinets – mushrooms and steak and onions and a nice red wine they'd had hiding. He was about half-way through making a credible beef stroganoff when his little companion yipped in joy and raced towards the front door. He turned the burners down to low and followed.

The door opened moments later and Kady was down on her knees, saying in a soft voice, “Hi, baby. Did you miss me? You did!” and stroking and petting and then she seemed to realize someone else was there. She straightened up, her face hardening... and then freezing when she saw him.

“Hey, so. It worked,” he said, not able to help his wide smile. “Your appeal was approved.” He spread out his hands. She stared at him for a long, long moment and then-

And then he was on his ass, Kady's arms tight around his neck and the little dog barking as she danced around them. He felt her breath against his neck, and she pushed herself up so that she could look at him. Penny reached up and framed her face with his hands. Her hair was loose and glorious, her eyes startled but- but warm.

“You've got good timing,” she told him, her voice low and intimate. “Julia and I were getting ready to storm the Underworld looking for you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” And she leaned down, and she kissed him.

Penny closed his eyes, and let himself enjoy being alive.

 

**Author's Note:**

> The dog is named Little Miss Snufflebottom but Kady calls her Missy in front of the others.


End file.
